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6 Human Resources Tips For Managers

Recently I was asked about human resources tips that managers need to know. There are quite a few, but I was able to narrow the list down to 6 good ones. Please feel free to copy this post and email it to all of your managers if you think it would be valuable for them! I’ll be sneaking it into our upcoming supervisor newsletter so our own leaders get a sneak peek into the mind of their friendly neighborhood HR pro.

6 things you’ve always wanted to say to your managers (but never did)

Take responsibility. Retention, culture, and recognition are your job, not ours. We can help provide tools, but in the end you are in the critical position to succeed wildly or fail miserably.

Bad to the bone. Just because we have to be “the bad guy” sometimes, we don’t necessarily like it. Use us to develop “carrots” more often and you won’t have to use us as the “stick” nearly as much.

We’ll teach you to fish. Need help with something? Just ask. All too often we get “the call” after something has already gone wrong. By then it’s too late for the easy route.

If only you knew. Ha! You complain about your “problem” employee left and right. If I could only tell you about the time I was on the verge of being cursed by a crazy voodoo lady during a termination meeting, you’d realize how lucky you are.

Don’t micromanage and expect autonomy on demand. If you spend every waking minute overseeing the tasks of your employees and suddenly need them to handle a project on their own, don’t be surprised when they are unable to accomplish the task. You’ve trained them to be helpless without your input, and you’ll have to train them how to get along without it.

Everything. Flows. Down. People treat customers like their managers treat them. You can blame the economy, the company, or whatever you like when your employees have issues. But research tells us that employees leave managers, not companies. Whatever you do has the ability to deeply affect your employees for good or bad. Let’s make it good, shall we?

Okay, I know you have a lesson for your own supervisors. What have you always wanted to say to your managers, but you never had the guts to say it out loud? Here’s your chance!

I’ve often said that if manager’s did their jobs better, a lot of what HR is responsible for would go away.

I love the idea of “teaching to fish.” I wonder, though, if we wait too long to teach those skills. Ideally, people who are going to be managers should start picking up some of those skills before they become managers, and then get a deep-dive early on with various touch points and refreshers along the way.

Everyone is NOT the same !! – It’s intriguing that managers want to be treated as individuals, but they don’t want their staff to be treated that way. Managers would benefit so much from taking things on a case-by-case basis vs. a “blanket” approach. They never provide as much coverage as they think !!

Nicely said, Ben. If I had to condense the list further, I would go with #’s 1, 3, and 6. If managers take ownership for coaching and managing their people, understand that we’re here to help, and realize that everyone models their behavior after the boss, we could improve morale and productivity immeasurably. Let’s keep trying!